Shooting in the 1st Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore

[Richard H]

If you have age limits which you must you will always have someone that will be on the wrong side of the limit and feel that they were unjustly excluded.

[JB]

Does anyone know when and where the qualifier(s) will be held for the YOG in air pistol?

[Spencer]

Does anyone know when and where the qualifier(s) will be held for the YOG in air pistol?

For Oceania Region, the 3rd (and last) at SISC Sydney, 2 December

[JB]

Anyone know when or if they'll have a qualifier in the US or north america?

[GT]

The US Winter Air Gun Championships at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO will be held December 3-6. This is an MQS event for the YOG.

[Alexander]

1. An MQS qualifier it is only for non-US citizens. USA Shooting has decided not to participate in the Youth Olympic Games, and to snub them altogether.

2. The African continental qualification event in March 2010 is to be translocated from Algeria to South Africa. A move into the right direction...

3. The American buck stops at Robert Mitchell's desk. I have sent him an email and have requested explanation.
USA Shooting is one of only three US sports governing bodies that do not participate in the Youth Olympic Games (the others being cycling and swimming). Foreign shooting federations watch this foolishness with dropped jaws.

Alexander

[Alexander]

3. The American buck stops at Robert Mitchell's desk. I have sent him an email and have requested explanation.

I have received an email back, right on the next day. He gives a substantial (unconvincing, and very likely materially wrong), but at least substantial and substianted response to my inquiry.

Both the speed and the substance are good things, and in spite of my upheld criticism of USA Shooting's evidently mistaken decision, I must say that I appreciate and esteem the responsiveness. The boss himself did what his "media and PR department" is unable or unwilling to do.

Alexander

[Jason]

The boss himself did what his "media and PR department" is unable or unwilling to do.

FWIW, the fact that he personally replied to you is an example of him receiving proper PR advice. If you'd received the same response from the head PR person you likely would've blown it off as spin -- but receiving it from "the boss" gives it the credence and responsibility you expected from a person in that position. I guarantee you that if it wasn't written by the PR folks it was certainly vetted by them.

And BTW, I have no affiliation with USA Shooting or the USOC. I have worked in public relations for almost ten years, however, so I do have some sense of how these things work.

Jason
http://proneinthewilderness.blogspot.com/

[Alexander]

You miss the point here, Jason. The point is that the superfluous drones that mask as "PR folks" do not even ANSWER. Not whether their answer is swift, detailed, credible.
They simply do not answer at all, when enquired.

[Jason]

You miss the point here, Jason. The point is that the superfluous drones that mask as "PR folks" do not even ANSWER. Not whether their answer is swift, detailed, credible.
They simply do not answer at all, when enquired.

That's because they're waiting for the boss to make up his mind on what he wants to do. The PR dept provides advice but it's always the boss who makes the decision on how an issue is handled.

And believe me, waiting for someone to make up their mind can be an incredibly frustrating experience.

Jason

[Guest]

Alexander ... if you feel comfortable, please post Mr. Mitchell's response

[Alexander]

I did not feel quite comfortable to follow Guest's invitation. Although Robert Mitchell's answer was professional, it was strikingly wrong. But that was not the point. He gave me an open answer and while I am certainly not the only one who had received it, it was never part of the equation that it would be published or quoted.
Basically, Mitchell simply did not understand (nor ever tried to understand, as became distressingly clear) the intent and the purpose of the Youth Olympic Games. A pity.

New topic: The list of all participants is out now. It has been published on the ISSF website. Here you are:

http://www.issf-sports.org/news.ashx?newsid=1184

Alexander

[Guest]

The point would be Alexander, for those of us in the US who would like to see the USA participate, we would like to know what is being said, even if it is incorrect.

For example, if they are sending messages that it is about costs, then there could have been a movement to have NRA pick up some of the action ... they would have jumped on that to advocate that they are better prepared to to perform the NGB function

[Guest]

Everybody has limited financial resources. For me, I wish I had enough money so that my children had only the newest, best equipment and that we could travel to all of the major matches. Unfortunately, we have have to manage our shooting budget.

I am sure that USA Shooting wishes that they had unlimited budget and could send a full compliment of shooters to every international match that is being held this year. I doubt that they have those kind of funds. So, they have to prioritize the matches that they will send shooters to. This year is the World Championships. I would much rather that they send Junior shooters to the World Championships than to the YOG. The World Championships will have better competition, a broader age group and .22 events. It will provide a better experience for Junior shooters.